Chapter 1355: Outer Reality Singularity

A day ago, long before Phei returned from the Primordial Frozen Zone, Dravenna, Melissa and Sienna had sat together in a room with no one else present, and the atmosphere around them felt considerably lighter.

Relief was plain on both Dravenna and Melissa.

The tension that had been sitting in their shoulders had finally loosened, and even the way they sat had changed now that the pressure hanging over them had eased.

In the way that mattered, it really did feel as if a mountain had been lifted from both women, and Sienna could hardly blame them after everything surrounding Chaos and Phei had put them through since they were hardly even ready for it.

Melissa eventually turned toward her daughter with a faint frown still lingering between her brows. "Just Why? I mean, I’m relieved and all, but Mom isn’t the kind of person who just lets something like this go after she’s already decided on it. Changing her plans halfway through isn’t exactly her favorite hobby, so why suddenly tell us to leave Phei awaken alone?"

Sienna already knew what she meant and why it seemed strange indeed and gave a small nod before answering:

"Recent developments, probably—

"—You saw Phei awakened the Void on his own, and he didn’t merely stumble into some weak imitation of it either. Even we didn’t know he had been carrying the Blood Element this entire time until it revealed itself, so at this point none of us actually knows how many things are still sleeping inside him. If I had to guess, Grandmother decided that forcing the Time Element out of him now could interfere with whatever natural progression is already happening on its own without Phei needing any of us to intervene."

Dravenna nodded slowly because that matched her own thoughts almost perfectly. "That’s what I’ve been thinking too. Our biggest worry has always the Void. We knew what had to do and what would happen if we wanted to force that Element awaken inside of him, and compared to that— what Phei would have needed to endure for the Time Element is practically child’s play to the Void. Somehow he awakened Void— what we’ve been so worried about— without us doing any of it, which means there is a very real chance he’ll eventually awaken Time by himself too."

None of them had ever been foolish enough to think that gaining Void-Ice meant Phei would then awaken the Void itself through the same simple path.

Void-Ice was connected to it, certainly, but possessing a derivative and awakening the true source were entirely different things. Dravenna and Melissa had known exactly what would have been required to force the Void out of him, and the method had frightened both women enough that even after Chaos gave her instructions, neither had actually taken the final step toward carrying them out.

Chaos herself had known how difficult it would be, which was precisely why she had told them to awaken Phei’s Time Element first while he was still in Paradise, before events progressed too far and the Void became unavoidable. Yet somehow Phei had stepped around the entire sequence, awakened Void on his own and forced even Chaos to reconsider whatever future she had originally built around him.

Now the Empress had told them to stop interfering and allow everything to progress naturally, almost as though Phei had shown her a crack in her own plans that she had not expected to see<anno data-annotation-id="19620986-b94f-16a8-52d5-290c62bdb938" data-title=".">.¹</anno>

Melissa leaned back and folded her arms. "I’m still angry she underestimated Phei enough to think he’d ever need that stupid Plan B in the first place."

Dravenna rolled her jade eyes. "Says the woman who has spent most of this whole thing complaining about it without doing no shit about it anyways."

Melissa slowly turned her head toward her.

Dravenna immediately lifted both hands and laughed. "All right, don’t get all serious. I was joking."

"I don’t just complain," Melissa told her. "And I wouldn’t need to complain so much if Mother didn’t invent some new strategy every time so that she could avoid me or avoid answering any of my calls. Can you imagine that? She’s been avoiding me for all these years since the funeral."

That made Dravenna laugh again, although the amusement did not completely hide the interest that began creeping into her expression as she studied Melissa more carefully:

"I really do love it when that fire comes out of you," she said before her gaze sharpened a little. "Actually, that reminds me of something I’ve never properly understood. You’re only Archmaster Stage right now, and for most of this life you’ve been somewhere inside the Awakened stages. If we’re being cruelly honest, compared with the being we’re talking about, you’re basically a just glorified mortal."

Melissa did not look offended in the slightest, mostly because she had spent enough time around monsters to know exactly where her how weak she was in the grand scheme of things.

Dravenna continued watching her with growing curiosity. "That’s why I still don’t understand why the Empress actively avoids you at all cost. I’ve watched your mother confront things that would make Supreme God Immortal beings disappear, and I’ve seen her treat beings worshipped as supreme existences as if they were irritating children. Yet whenever Melissa’s name enters the conversation or if you so much as call, somehow the great Chaos herself suddenly discovers urgent business somewhere on the opposite side of existence."

A reluctant smile tried to appear on Melissa’s face, which only made Dravenna point at her. "See? Even you know it’s ridiculous. I’ve never seen any other Ancientbeing avoid meeting her own mortal daughter face to face this badly. She sends me, she sends the Nether Goddess or she passes instructions through everyone except herself, and if you somehow happen to appear where she is, the woman suddenly finds somewhere else to be.<anno data-annotation-id="74970794-a6b5-eeae-e846-9b63eaf98bbb" data-title=""">"<sup>1</anno>

Melissa’s smile faded again because unfortunately none of that was exaggerated.

Dravenna looked toward Sienna. "Does that make any sense to you, My Goddess? The First Princess is a Sovereign Goddess herself<anno data-annotation-id="acc4cde9-93ec-5447-0c3d-96b1d1b3413b" data-title="—">—¹</anno> yet the Empress still treats her exactly like what she is, her daughter. She’ll order her around, argue with her, punishes her if necessary, drag her into whatever insanity she’s planning and stand right in front of her without hesitation. Then we have Melissa sitting here at Archmaster Stage, and somehow this is the daughter the overpowered Supreme Empress refuses to meet directly."

Sienna’s expression barely changed. "It makes perfect sense to me. Your brain simply doesn’t want to accept the obvious answer, Stupid Jade." Dravenna’s jade eyes narrowed slightly, but Sienna had already turned her gaze toward Melissa:

"After all, mother is an Outer Reality Singularity."

For several seconds, Dravenna said absolutely nothing while Melissa looked between the two women in confusion. The difference between their reactions was almost comical. Melissa merely looked as though she didn’t care about the term, while Dravenna stared at Sienna like someone had quietly struck a bell inside her skull.

"What?" Dravenna finally asked, her earlier amusement completely gone.

Melissa frowned. "Okay, that reaction makes me feel like you’re the only stupid person among us."

Dravenna did not answer her because her eyes were still fixed on Sienna, the disbelief on her face growing rather than fading. "Say that again."

Sienna’s expression remained perfectly calm. "Mother is an Outer Reality Singularity."

Dravenna slowly turned toward Melissa after hearing it a second time, and this time she was no longer studying the woman’s cultivation or wondering why Chaos avoided her. She looked at Melissa as though something she had known for years had suddenly acquired an entirely different meaning.

Melissa noticed immediately and raised an eyebrow. "Can one of you stop being dramatic?"

"You knew?" Dravenna asked.

Melissa stared at her for a moment before her expression became almost insulting in its disbelief. "That I’m an Outer Reality Singularity? Obviously. You didn’t?"

Dravenna ignored the question and looked back toward Sienna.

Whatever amusement she had carried earlier had disappeared completely now. "Then explain it properly."

Sienna crossed one leg over the other before answering her. "An Outer Reality Singularity isn’t a cultivation Realm or some bloodline, physique, race or title either, which is why Mother’s current strength has almost nothing to do with what she is. Most beings are born entirely within Reality and remain part of its structure regardless of how powerful they eventually become. Their existence belongs to the Reality containing them, and everything they become afterward develops from that beginning; all according to the great design of the said Reality."

Melissa remained quiet because none of this was news to her, although she was beginning to enjoy the fact that Dravenna apparently required the explanation.

"Outer Reality Singularities are different," Sienna continued, keeping her attention upon Dravenna. "Their existence does not originate entirely from within the Reality containing them. Somewhere at the deepest level of their soul exists something that Reality did not create, cannot properly have control over, see their paths and cannot completely govern— an anomaly if you will."

Dravenna’s gaze moved toward Melissa again, lingering long enough that Melissa sighed and leaned farther into the sofa.

"Yes," Melissa said. "Still me."

Dravenna ignored her and returned her attention to Sienna. "That shouldn’t be able to remain hidden through an ordinary mortal life."

"It didn’t remain hidden," Sienna replied. "You simply didn’t recognize what you were seeing."

That answer made Dravenna’s expression sharpen.

Sienna’s eyes shifted briefly toward Melissa before settling upon Dravenna again. "Mother’s cultivation is ordinary because cultivation is something her current body acquired inside this Reality. Her Essence can be measured because it belongs to the mortal body. Her bloodline can be seen and her body can be injured and her Realm can progress beneath ordinary cultivation laws. None of those things are the Singularity itself. The Singularity exists beneath all of them— even her soul."

Dravenna slowly leaned back, processing the distinction. "Then what exactly gave it away to you?"